Topic: doctors

Direct discrimination is no longer a barrier to the career progression of women doctors in the NHS

The vast majority of medical graduates trained in Britain work in the NHS for many years, refuting claims that doctors are increasingly leaving the NHS because they are disenchanted with it, according to a study published on bmj.com today.

A second study also published today shows that direct discrimination is no longer a barrier to the career progression of women doctors in the NHS.

The findings are based on regular surveys of doctors who qualified from UK medical schools over the last 30 years.

New guidance has been published by the BMA to help doctors dealing with suspected cases of abuse or neglect

New guidance on child protection has been published by the BMA to help doctors dealing with suspected cases of abuse or neglect.

Child protection issues are very complex and the BMA's tool kit gives doctors and their teams extra support to assist them when faced with these difficult and demanding circumstances.

GPs are often the first professionals to come into contact with children at risk and they, together with all members of the local primary health care team, should be fully aware of how to act in child protection matters, says the guidance.

With the legal limit on junior doctors’ hours set to be reduced, urgent action needs to be taken to ensure the quality of their training is maintained

The BMA warns that with the legal limit on junior doctors' hours set to be reduced in 100 days' time, urgent action needs to be taken to ensure the quality of their training is maintained.

On 1 August this year, the European Working Time Directive will be fully applied to junior doctors for the first time, reducing their maximum weekly hours from 56 to 48. There is widespread concern from doctors, particularly those training to be surgeons, that the cut in hours will make it difficult for them to gain the experience they need.

A new body to help ensure doctors in England meet standards of best practice has been granted £1 million, the chief medical officer has announced.

The NHS Revalidation Support Team will comprise a panel of senior doctors who will provide professionally informed leadership, support and advice to the NHS, patients and doctors' representatives for the design and delivery of the process.

Revalidation is the mechanism by which doctors will have to demonstrate at regular intervals that they remain up to date and are fit to practise.

UK doctors face having their licenses removed if they are found to be under performing in new annual assessment to be brought in by the Chief Medical Officer.

Hospital consultants, GPs and private practitioners will also have to renew their licences every five years under plans to be announced by Sir Liam Donaldson.

He will call for senior doctors to assess others who are practising in their area to ensure they are not putting patients at risk. Patients will also be asked for their feedback during the assessment process.

BBC News reports on an allegations that a private clinic ran unnecessary operations to make money

Police in Italy have said that alleged unnecessary operations to make money led to the death of five patients, BBC News has reported.

BBC News said that five elderly patients died following unnecessary procedures, according to police, including a woman who died after having been made to have three operations to resect a tumour instead of one.

According to BBC News, the police said clinic staff falsified medical tests to provide justification for the operations, and in doing so boosted their income by as much as €25,000 (£20,000) in some months.

Thousands are seen without doctors having access to their full medical records

Data volunteered by hospital trusts has suggested that over a million NHS patients are being seen every year without doctors having access to their full medical records.

A study by the Health Service Journal (HSJ) said there was no standardised way of measuring how many patient records are missing across NHS hospitals each year.

A total of 49 trusts responded to the HSJ's request for details under the Freedom of Information Act. Some gave a full account of their last audit while others gave details of the percentage of patients seen without their full records.

MPs have severely rebuked the chief medical officer for his lack of leadership

MPs in the UK have severely rebuked the country's chief medical officer for his lack of leadership during the long-running doctors' training debacle.

The Commons Health Committee were scathing in their criticism, saying the medical profession's confidence in Sir Liam Donaldson had been "seriously damaged" by last year's recruitment fiasco, which brought thousands of doctors on to the streets in protest.

Restrictions on the right of foreign doctors to work in the UK have been ruled unlawful

Restrictions on the right of thousands of foreign doctors to work in the UK have been ruled unlawful.

Guidance issued by the government two years ago advised NHS employing bodies that foreign, non-EU postgraduate doctors and dentists seeking training posts should only be employed if there were no suitable UK or EU candidates.

But the House of Lords has ruled then Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt acted unfairly in "dashing the legitimate expectations" of practitioners who had been encouraged to come to this country to help staff the NHS.

Doctors from outside the EU will be prevented from applying for postgraduate training posts in the UK when new immigration rules come into force

Doctors from outside the EU will be prevented from applying for postgraduate training posts in the UK when new immigration rules come into force.

The Home Office has outlined new regulations to prevent overseas doctors applying for foundation and speciality training posts after complaints that homegrown doctors are unable to find jobs once they graduate.

The rules would see a drop of between 3,000 and 5,000 overseas applications when it first affects recruitment in 2009, officials estimate.